Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.
I now present, the next chapter! Ok, so I know they're not the longest chapters in the world but that means more updating more often!
Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.
Right then, he wished he would have. As they flew into Star City, they were attacked by what could be described as giant dragonflies. Except that real dragonflies don't try to shoot a ship down with lasers.
"Oh, look. A welcoming committee." Red Arrow said sarcastically, reminding them all of exactly what Artemis would have said.
"M'gann! Land on the roof of that building. We will take out the drones from there." Aqualad said, standing up. The Martian nodded and the Bio-Ship touched down on the roof of bank. They quickly disembarked and began taking on the drones.
"There must be hundreds if not thousands!" The Boy Wonder shouted over the clatter and clang of the bots being taken down. He threw three exploding birdarangs into the chaos. Almost immediately, ten of the drones dropped onto the roof.
"This is going to put a dent in things…" Conner could just make out Wally's mumble. The speedster was running and jumping all around the roof, into the drones, and back down again. They took down the drones for the better part of the hour. But they wouldn't stop coming.
"I'm not losing to a bunch of bugs!" Red Arrow growled angrily as he shot arrow after arrow at the offending robots.
Superboy continued to throw them around, sending them crashing into each other. Zatanna kept shouting her magic, taking down a fair bit of the bots. Aqualad was able to short out plenty of the robots using his water-bearers. Miss Martian was using telekinesis, tossing them into each other.
Then, they attack stopped. The drones just hovered there. Their transmitters buzzed and they all groaned. Batman only nodded to their expressions as they saw his face. Then he clicked play.
When their screens flickered to life after the temporary blackness, the first thing they saw was their unconscious archer.
She must not have woken up… Robin kept his thoughts to himself but inwardly groaned with the rest of the team.
The man was back. He stood in front of the archer and backhanded her. They watched her head slam to the side and eyes shoot open before becoming glaring slits. Hate was written clearly on her face as the man moved away, though they knew it was temporary.
Cheshire stepped on screen, twirling another arrow in her fingers. This time, she did not go straight to stabbing their archer. She bent down to Artemi's left calf. They could see her draw an 'X' as the fabric slit open and blood started to drip out of the cut. Artemis, for her part, seemed to be trying to distance herself as far from the arrow as possible.
It wasn't working.
Cheshire turned back to the camera and waved again. They winced as the arrow was stabbed right through the center of the 'X'. Artemis flinched and blood forced its way around and through the gag. Again the camera showed a message.
We are.
And then came Artemis's message. Wally's eyes grew wide. She would get herself killed sooner if she kept it up.
Not worth it.
She didn't get the chance to repeat the message. The look she sent towards the camera was akin to 'I'm sorry' as the man reappeared. Two strikes in and the archer was out like a light, blood steadily flowing from the gag as Artemis's head lolled. One more slap and the camera cut out again.
But, of course, the drones chose this very minute to attack again.
That was planned. Wally reasoned, returning to the fight with more energy and drive than ever before. They knew we'd be watching… The Shadows know we're here.
They continued to fight the battle, knowing every minute was a risk on Artemis's life. Roy Harper would never admit this to anyone but he couldn't help but care about Artemis, mostly because of Wally. Don't you dare die on him.
Aqualad looked across the swarm of drones, knowing their true purpose. They're stalling. He thought, sighing internally. The only purpose of the drones was to keep them there, from their hidden teammate. He looked around at the six other teenagers, saw them fighting so hard for one person.
The thought echoed in everyone's mind.
We're coming, Artemis. We're coming.
And while the archer knew her friends were coming, she didn't want them to. She didn't want them to walk into the trap. She just wanted them to be safe, okay, and away from her and the shadows.
But, of course, that was exactly opposite of what was really going to happen.